Door lock



' Feb. 28, 1956 J. H. ROETHEL DOOR LOCK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 20,1953 BY M Wrozmsy INVENTOR. OH/V b. PoEH/EL Feb. 28, 1956 J, H. ROETHELDOOR LOCK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 20, 1953 INVENTOR. Jbx/N bf Roan/4BY M ATTORNEY- 6 W m w a 2 k 5 a J w M w 4 0 w United States Patent DOORLOCK John H. Roethel, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Roethel EngineeringCorporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application July20, 1953, Serial No. 368,966

9 Claims. (Cl. 292-166) This invention relates to a latch controlmechanism for swinging doors, particularly the doors of automobile orother vehicle bodies, an object of this invention being to provide animproved door latch mechanism which is characterized by its simplicityand compactness in construction and which is economical to manufacture,comparatively quiet in operation and efiicient in use.

The improved door latch mechanism of the present invention comprises aslidable latch bolt spring urged into latching engagement with a strikeror keeper device mounted on a body pillar, latch device release meansfor disengaging the latch device from the striker or keeper device, saidrelease means including an actuator which is preferably a pivotallymounted lever, and a pivoted member or lever having blocking means whichmay be positioned in blocking relation to a blocking portion on therelease means actuator to render the latter inoperative to effectdisengagement of the latch device from the striker or keeper device.

More particularly the door latch mechanism embodied in the presentinvention comprises a support having a main plate portion and asecondary plate portion mounted thereon in spaced relation. A latchplate is slidably mounted between the secondary plate portion and themain plate portion. An actuator, preferably a pivotally movable lever,is mounted on the main plate portion,

said actuator having a part thereof in opposing relation to a part ofsaid latch plate. The actuator is movable by an outer manually operablemeans, such as a push button, and when so moved its part will abut thelatch plate part and thereby shift the latch plate in unlatchingdirection. The actuator is provided with a blocking portion thereon. Ablocking means is mounted on the support and is shiftable by manuallyoperable means into opposing relation to said actuator blocking portion,said blocking means when shifted into said blocking position renderingthe actuator inefiective to shift the latch device in unlatchingdirection.

Other objects and features of this invention will appear in thefollowing description and appended claims, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein likereference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

Fig. l is a front elevational view illustrating the mechanism mounted onthe plate portion of a door latch mechanism constructed in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention. v

Fig. 2 is a view in part sectional taken substantially through line 2--2of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a view in part sectional taken substantially through line 3--3of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a view taken substantially through line 4-4 of Fig. 2 lookingin the direction of the arrows and illustrating the relationship inlatched position of the latch 2,736,591 Patented Feb. 28, 1956 2 deviceof the latch mechanism to a striker or keeper device mounted on a bodypillar.

Fig. 5 is a view taken substantially through line 55 of Fig. 6 lookingin the direction of the arrows and illustrating a door latch mechanismconstructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the presentinvention.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the latch mechanism shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a view in part sectional taken substantially through line 7-7of Fig. 5 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken substantially through line 8-8 of Fig.5 looking in the direction of the arrows.

In the drawings there is illustrated, by way of example, embodiments ofthe present invention as applied to the door frame structure of anautomobile body. The embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusivecomprises a case plate 10 which is provided with screw bosses 10a whichare adapted to receive screws for fastening the case plate to the outerside of the jamb portion or free edge wall of'the vehicle door, the caseplate 10 having a flange 11 which is adapted to project through anaperture in the free edge wall of the door and to be positioned alongthe inner panel of the door. The plate portion 10 together with theplate portion 12 of a housing 13 secured to the front face 10b of theplate portion 10 forms a frame for supporting the principal operativemembers of the latch mechanism. The present latch mechanism is providedwith a slidable latch plate 14 guided for slidable movement by spacedshoulder rivets 15 which project through elongated slots 16 in the latchdevice, the shoulder rivets being securely mounted on the inner side 12aof the housing plate 12. The latch plate 14 is a longitudinallyextending member and is provided with a number of projections thereonwhich will be hereinafter described. One of these projections is at thelower end of the latch plate 14. This projection 17 extends below thelower edge 18 of the housing. 13, the housing being open at its lowerend, and is engageable with a striker or keeper device as will behereinafter more fully explained.

Associated with the latch plate 14 is a latch device release actuator,preferably a substantially vertically extending release lever, generallydesignated 19, which is pivoted intermediate its ends upon a shoulderrivet or stud 20. The release lever 19 is mounted on the inner face ofthe case plate 10. When the present latch mechanism is mounted on thefree edge wall of the door the release lever 19 will be inside of thedoor frame structure, the free edge wall of the door being apertured toaccommodate the release lever 19 and other members of the latchmechanism mounted on the inner face 100 of the case plate 10. Therelease lever 19 is provided with two arms, a substantially upwardlyextending arm 21 and a substantially downwardly extending arm 22. Thedownwardly extending arm 22'is provided at an intermediate positionthereon with a projection or lug 23. The lug 23 is turned so as toproject through an aperture 24 in the case plate 10 toward the housingplate portion 12. The lug 23 underlies a projection 25 on the latchplate 14. By virtue of this construction the release lever 19 and thelatch plate 14 are so related that if the release lever 19 is swungabout its pivotal axis in a counterclock wise direction as viewed inFig. 1, the lug 23 will engage the projection 25 on the latch plate 14and thereby lift the latch device upwardly in unlatching direction.

The upwardly extending arm 21 of the release lever 19 is formed with aflange 21a thereon. This lever arm 21 is adapted to be engaged on theouter side of the flange 21a by an outside manually operable means, suchasa push button 26, for imparting the pivotal or swing- 2.? ing movementto the release lever 19 necessary to cause unlatching movement of thelatch plate 14.

The latch plate 14 is yicldingly urged toward latching direction and therelease lever 19 is similarly urged toward its normal position seen inFig. l by means of a single coiled spring 27 anchored at its inner endto a kerf 23 formed from lugs lanced out of the surface of the caseplate .ltl. This spring 27 has a horizontally extending arm 27aengageable with a projection 29 extending laterally from an edge of thelatch plate 14. The spring 27 urges the latch plate downwardly at alltimes so as to yieldingly maintain the projection 17 thereon in strikeror keeper device engaging position. Because of the abutting relationshipof the latch device member projection and the lug or projection 23 onthe release lever arm 22, the spring 27 will also function to urge thelever arm 22 in a clockwise direction about its pivotal axis 2%. Thelever arm. 21 will thus be urged outwardly so as to be maintained in thenormal non-operating position shown in Fig. 1. Thus, a single spring 27is utilized to maintain the latch plate 14 and release lever 19 in theirnormal positions. It will be understood that even if the spring 27should break, the latch plate 14 will normally tend to be gravity urgedinto latching position thereby preventing inadvertent unlatching of thedoor.

In accordance with the present embodiment means is provided forrestraining or blocking the release lever 19 against operation from theoutside of the door. The blocking means comprises a lever 30 pivotedintermediate its ends on a stud 31 secured to the face 10c of the caseplate 10. As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the pivot axis of theblocking lever Silis located below the pivot axis of the release lever19. The lever 36 extends in a substantially horizontal direction. lever30 is provided with a flange 32 which flange, when the blocking lever 39is in the position shown in Fig. 1, lies in the path of swingingmovement of the lower end or blocking portion 33 of the lever arm 22 andthereby blocks swinging movement of the lever 19 in a counterclockwisedirection. Since it is necessary for the release lever 19 to swing in acounterclockwise direction in order that the lever projection or lug 23abut the latch device projection 25 to raise the latch device, therelationship of the flange 32 to the end 33 of the lever arm 22, asshown in Pig. 1, renders the outer manually operable means, such as thepush button 26, inoperative to release the latch mechanism from theoutside of the door and the door cannot be opened.

The present latch mechanism incorporates a remote control mechanism soconstructed as to permit movement of the latch plate 14 independently ofthe release lever 19 and regardless of whether the latter is blockedagainst swinging movement through the medium of the blocking lever 30.This remote control mechanism is preferably manually actuated from theinside'of the door remote from the case plate It by means of an insidedoor handle (not shown). Referring particularly to Fig. 3, the caseplate flange 11 is provided with a bell crank lever 34 having asubstantially horizontally ex tending arm 35 and a substantiallyupwardly extending arm 35, the latter arm 36 being adapted to beconnected by any convenient linkage to the inside door handle. The bellcrank lever 34 is pivotally mounted on the flange 11 by means of a pivotstud or shoulder rivet 37. The bell crank lever arm 34 is offset at itsfree end and extends through an aperture 33 in the plate It) so as tounderlie a laterally extending projection 39 on the upper end of thelatch plate 14. Movement of the bell'crank lever 34 in a clockwisedirection as viewed in Fig. 3 will cause the arm 35 thereof toabut thelatch plate projection 39 thereby to lift the latch plate 14 upwardlyagainst the resistance of the spring 2'7.

In the present embodiment the blockinglever 30 may be shifted into orout of blocking position either from On one end the the inside or theoutside of the door. As best viewed in Fig. 2, the flange 32 of theblocking lever 30 is provided with a square aperture 49 adapted toreceive an eccentrically swingable pin member of a conventional keyoperated cylinder locking mechanism (not shown).

The blocking lever 36 is provided at the end opposite the flanged endwith an aperture 41 adapted to pivotally receive the lower end of aconventional control rod which usually terminates at the upper endthereof in a push and pull button accessible at the inside of the glassin a vehicle door. it will be readily apparent that if a downward forceis exerted on the apertured end of the blocking lever the end thereofcarrying the flange 32 will be swung upwardly into blocking positionrelative to the end 33 of the release lever arm 22. Conversely, if. anupward force is exerted on the end of the apertured end of the blockinglever, the blocking flange 32 will. be swung downwardly out of blockingposition.

The case plate It is provided with a lug i2 turned inwardly from theface plate 100 to provide a stop to limit clockwise swinging movement ofthe blocking lever 3%. A toggle spring 43 is provided having one endseated in an aperture in the case plate ill and its other end in anaperture in the blocking lever 36. The toggle spring 43 is provided toyieldingly urge and hold the blocking lever toward its upper and lowerlimits of move ment.

The latch plate 14 is provided with one additional projection thereonwhich as yet has not been described. As seen in Fig. l, the latch plate14- is provided at the lower left hand corner thereof with a pin 44which extends toward and through an aperture 10d in the case plate 16.This pin 44 is utilized to automatically swing the blocking lever 30from release lever 19 blocking position to non-blocking position in theevent that the latch mechanism is released by actuation of the insidehandle operated remote control mechanism while the blocking lever is inblocking position or in the event that the blocking lever is placed inblocking position while the vehicle door is in open position and thevehicle door is then swung shut. This feature of construction iscommonly referred to as the kick-out means, that is, a means forautomatically restoring the blocking lever to nonbloeking position toprevent the vehicle door from being inadvertently locked. As shown inFig. 2, the pin s4 underlies the blocking "lever 39 when the blockinglever is in blocking position relative to the blocking portion 33 of therelease lever arm 22. Upon upward movement of the latch plate 14, thepin 44 will strike the blocking lever 3% to the left of its pivot axisand will swing the flanged end 32 thereof downwardly to a position inwhich the toggle spring $93 will cross its dead center position and urgethe blocking lever to its fully non-blocking position as governed by thestop 42.

it will be noted that the latch plate 14 projection 17 has an inclinedleading edge 17a which upon engagement with a striker or keeper deviceasthe vehicle door is moved from an open to a closed :position actsto'cam the latch plate upwardly. Since the release lever projection 23lies below the latch plate projection 25 and the bell crank lever arm 35lies below the latch plate projection 3?, upward movement of the latchplate 14 is independent of and does not result in any movement of therelease lever 19 or hell crank 34. This independent movement of thelatch plate ld'through the abutting relation of the pin 44 to theblocking lever30 will, as explained above, automatically restore theblocking lever, if in blocking position, to non-blocking position.

Fig. 4 illustrates the cooperative relationship between the latch plate14 and the keeper or striker device, generallydesignated 45, to hold thedoor in latchedposition. In general, the keeper or striker 45 comprisesa 'C-shapcd structure having upper'and lower body portions 46 and 47,

respectively. The upper body portion -is formed at its upper edge withtwo integralupstanding tooth lik'e projections 48 and 49 which the"latch plateprojection 17 is adapted toengage to hold the door injeithersafety or final locking position. When theprojection '17 is inengagement with the keeper tooth 48 the door is in safety latchingposition and when the projection 17' is in engagement with the tooth 49the door is; in final latching position. a

The upper surface 50 of the lower body portion 47 forms a rampengageable by a suitably contoured dovetail or abutment 51 fastened tothe-front face 10b of the case plate 10. A yieldable wedging means iscarried on:the underside of the upper body portion 46 of thestrikerdevice and engages the upper surface of the dovetail or abutment 51 tofirmly hold the door against vibratory movement in a vertical plane. Thewedging means in the present instance comprises a'wedge block 52controlled by a compression spring 53, the wedge block and spring beingslidably retained within a recess 54 in the lower surface of the upperbody portion 46 by means of a guide rod 55 fastened to the end walls ofthe recess 54. The spring 53 is mounted under initial compression andconstantly urges the wedge outwardly or to the right as viewed in Fig.4. During closing movement'of the door, the wedge block 52 is carriedinwardly to some extent against the resistance of the spring 53, thewedge block tending to tighten itself against the upper surface of theabutment 51 and hence maintaining the latch plate projection inengagement with the tooth 49 on the striker and also minimizing anypossible vibratory movement of the door.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. to 8 inclusive ischaracterized by a modified construction and method of mounting of thelatch plate or bolt, which in this embodiment is generally designated'60. The latch plate or bolt 60 is preferably molded of a plasticmaterial, such as nylon, which is characterized by its low coeificientof friction when sliding on steel and which has low adhesion to ice andtherefore-will not readily freeze to the case plate 10. As illustrated,the latch plate or bolt 60 has a cross-sectional.thicknesssubstantiallyequal to the distance between the case plate surface 10b and the housingplate portion surface 12b. The fit of the latch plate or bolt 60 betweenthe two plate surfaces is such that the latch plate will be freelymovable therebetween.

In order to lighten the latch plate or bolt 60 and to save on thequantity of material used therein, the latch plate or bolt 60 isprovided with a number of recesses in the side thereof adjacent the caseplate'surface 10b. Some of the recesses are utilized for furtherfunctions.

The latch plate or bolt 60 is a longitudinally extending member and isprovided with a tooth-like projection 61 thereon extending below thelower edge 18 of the housing 13, the housing being open at its lowerend, and is engageable with a keeper or striker device such asillustrated in Fig. 4.

In the present embodiment the projection or lug 23 on the. release leverarm 22 projects through the aperture 24 of the case plate 10 into arecess portion 62 of the latch plate or bolt and underlies the edge 63::of a wall section 63 thereof. By virtue of this construction, the

release lever 19 and the latch plate or bolt 60 are so .is yieldinglyurged toward latching direction and the release lever 19 is urged towardits normal position seen in Fig. 5 by a cylindrical coil spring 64. Thespring 64 is nestled in a centrally located recess 65 in the latch plateor bolt 60. At its upper end the spring '64 abuts against a lug orprojection 66 turned outwardly from the surface 10b of the case plate soas to project into the recess 65 of the latch plate or bolt 60. Thespring 64 thus urges the latch plate or bolt 60 downwardly at all times,the downward movement being limited by the abutting re lation of a wallportion 67 of the latch plate or bolt 60 with the upper surface of theprojection or lug 66. The spring 64 urges the latch plate downwardly atall times so as to yieldingly maintain the projection 61 thereon instriker or keeper device engaging position. Because of the abuttingrelationship of the latch plate edge 63a and the lug or projection 23 onthe release lever arm 22, the spring 64 will also function to urge thelever arm 22 in a clockwise direction about its pivotal axis 20. Thus,as in the previously described embodiment, a single spring 64 isutilized to maintain the latch plate 60 and the release lever 19 intheir normal positions.

In the present embodiment the means for restraining or blocking therelease lever 19 against operation from the outside of the door is thesame as in the previously described embodiment. The remote controlmechanism is also similar to that of the previous embodiment with thedifference that the arm 35 of the bell crank lever underlies the upperedge 68:: of a recess 68 in the latch plate or bolt 60 rather than aprojection on the latch plate. Movement of the bell crank lever 34 in aclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 7 will cause the arm 35 to abutthe latch plate wall edge 68a thereby to lift the latch plate 14upwardly against the resistance of the spring 64.

The latch plate or bolt 60 is provided with a projection 69 thereoncorresponding in function to the projection or pin 44 on the latch plate14. However, since the latch plate 60 is molded the projection 69 ispreferably cast integrally thereon. The projection 69 is adapted toengage the blocking lever 30 to automatically swing the same fromrelease lever 19 blocking position to nonblocking position in the eventthat the latch mechanism is released by actuation of the inside handleoperated remote control mechanism while the blocking lever is inblocking position or in the event that the blocking lever is placed inblocking position while the vehicle door is in open position and thevehicle door is then swung shut.

It will be noted that the mounting of the latch plate or bolt 60 on thecase plate is a relatively simple operation. It is only necessary toposition the spring 64 in the recess 65 and then position these parts inproper relation to the lug or projection 66. The housing 13 is thenplaced over the latch plate or bolt 60 and secured to the case plate 10in any convenient manner as by the insertion of tabsthereon throughslots in the case plate, the tabs then being bent over. The latch plateor bolt 60 is readily slidable on the case plate, the walls of thevarious recesses 62, 65 and 68 acting as runners on which the latchplate or bolt is slidable. Thus, with the construction embodied in Figs.5 to 8 it is not necessary to use shoulder studs to mount the latchplate or bolt. It is believed that the savings in assembly costs willcompensate for the additional expense of molding the latch plate or boltout of a material such as nylon which at present is more expensive thanmetal.

The foregoing embodiments of the present invention each provide a latchmechanism characterized by its simplicity of construction. The number ofparts utilized in each embodiment is believed to represent the absoluteminimum which will permit all the desired functions of the latchmechanism to be obtained. Also, it will be noted that the embodiments ofthe present invention are characterized by the thinness of the crosssectional thickness of the parts adapted to be mounted inside the freeedge wall of the door. Present vehicle construction is characterized bythin door pillars. Accordingly, it is necessary to mount the windowglass run channel close to the inside of the free edge wall of the door.Not much room is'left for the latch mechanism. The embodiments of thepresent invention require a minimum of clearance between the inside ofthe free edge wall of the door and the glass run channel.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and de scribed the preferredembodiments of this invention his to be understood that minor changes inthe details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventionas claimed.

I claim:

1. In a latch mechanism for a swinging door, a support having a plateportion adapted to be mounted on the free edge wall of the door, a latchdevice mounted on one side of said plate portion for movement between adoor latched and a door unlatched position, an actuator mounted on theopposite side of said plate portion and having a blocking portion, saidactuator having a part thereof projecting through an aperture in saidplate portion and arranged in opposing relation to a part of said latchdevice, outer manually operable means engageable with said actuator tomove the same in one direction to cause its said part to abut saidlatch. device part and move the latch device into door unlatchedposition, a member movably mounted on said support and having blockingmeans thereon, and inner manually operable means for moving said memberto dispose said blocking means in position to be engaged by saidblocking portion thereby to block said actuator and render the sameineifective to move said latch device to door unlatched position.

2. In a latch mechanism for a swinging door, a support having a plateportion adapted to be mounted on the free edge wall of the door, latchdevice means mounted on one side of said plate portion for movementbetween a door latched and a door unlatched position, actuator meansmounted on the opposite side of said plate portion and having a blockingportion, one of said means having a part thereon projecting through anaperture in said plate portion and arranged in opposing relation to apart of the other means, outer manually operable means engageable withsaid actuator means to move the same in one direction to cause said parto abut and move the latch device means into door unlatched position, amember movably mounted on said support and having blocking meansthereon, and inner manually operable means for moving said member todispose said blocking means in position to be engaged by said blockingportion thereby to block said actuator means and render the same ineiiective to move said latch device means to door unlatched position.

3. In a latch mechanism for a swinging door, a support having a plateportion adapted to be mounted on the free edge wall of the door, latchdevice means mounted on one side of said plate portion for movementbetween a door latched and a door unlatched position, actuator meansmounted on the opposite side of said plate portion and having a blockingportion, one of said means having a part thereon projecting through anaperture in said plate portion and arranged in opposing relation to apart of the other means, outer manually operable means engageable withsaid actuator means to move the same in one direction to cause saidparts to abut and move the latch device means into door unlatchedposition, arnember movably mounted on said support and having blockingmeans thereon, said member being movable to dispose said blocking meansin position to be engaged by said blocking portion thereby to block saidactuator means and render the same ineffective to move said latch devicemeans to door unlatcbed position, said member having a part movable intoopposing relation to a second part of said latch device means when saidmember is disposed in said blocking position, said latch device meansbeing movable into door unlatched position independently of actuationthereof by said actuator means to cause its said second part to engagesaid member part and thereby shift said blocking means out of blockingposition with respect to said blocking portion.

I 4. In a latch mechanism for a swinging door, a support having a mainplate portion and a secondary plate portion in spaced relationship toone face of said main plate portion, latch device means mounted betweensaid plate portions for movement between a door latched and a doorunlatched position and having a keeper engaging portion projectingbeyond one edge of said secondary plate portion, actuator means mountedon said main plate portion and having a blocking portion, one of saidmeans having a part thereon arranged in opposing relation to a part ofthe other means, outer manually operable means engageable with saidactuator means to move the same in one direction to cause said parts toabut and move the latch device means into door unlatched position, amember movably mounted on said main plate portion having blocking meansthereon, said member being movable to dispose said blocking means inposition to be engaged by said blocking portion thereby to block saidactuator means and render the same ineffective to move said latch devicemeans to door unlatched position, said member having a part movable intoopposing relation to a second part of said latch device means when saidmember is disposed in said blocking position, and said latch devicemeans being movableinto door unlatched position independently ofactuation thereof by said actuator means to cause its said second partto engage said member part and thereby shift said blocking means out ofblocking position with respect to said blocking portion.

5. In a latch mechanism for a swinging door, a support having a mainplate portion and a secondary plate portion in spaced relationship toone face of said main plate portion, latch device means mounted betweensaid plate portions for movement between a door latched and a doorunlatched position and having a keeper engaging portion projectingbeyond one edge of said secondary plate portion, actuator means mountedon said main plate portion and having a blocking portion, one of saidmeans having a part thereon arranged in opposing relation to a part ofthe other means, outer manually operable means engageable with saidactuator means to move the same in one direction to cause said parts toabut and move the latch device means into door unlatched position,spring means compressible between a plate portion part and a part ofsaid latch device means and effective to restore said latch device meansand actuator means to door latched position and normal inoperativeposition, respectively, on release of said outer manually operablemeans, a member movably mounted on said main plate portion havingblocking means thereon, said member being movable to dispose saidblocking means in position to be engaged by said blocking portionthereby to block said actuator means and render the same ineffective tomove said latch device means to door unlatched position.

'6. In a latch mechanism for a swinging door, a support having a plateportion adapted to be mounted on the free edge wall of the door, avertically slidable latch device mounted on said plate portion formovement between a door latched and a door unlatched position, a levermeans pivotally mounted on said plate portion, said lever means having ablocking 'portion and also having a part thereon projecting through anaperture in said plate portion and :arranged in opposing relation to apart of the latch device, said lever means being swingable to cause saidparts to abut and shift the latch device vertically into door .unlatchedposition, and a swingable member mounted on said support and having apart movable in a substantially up and down direction, said part havingblocking means for cooperation with said blocking portion, saidswingable member being movable to dispose said blocking means inposition to be, engaged by said blocking portion thereby to block saidlever and render the same ineffective to move said latch device intodoor unlatched position.

'7. In a latch mechanism for 'a swinging door, a support having a plateportion adapted to be mounted on the free edge wall of the door, avertically slidable latch device mounted on said plate portion formovement between a door latched and a door unlatched position, actuatormeans comprising a substantially vertically extending lever pivotallymounted on said plate portion, a blocking portion on said lever, saidlever having a part thereon arranged beneath and in opposing relation toa part of said latch device, outer manually operable means engageablewith an arm of said lever to swing said arm in the direction of theinner edge of the plate portion to cause said parts to abut and move thelatch device upwardly into door unlatched position, and a substantiallyhorizontally extending swingable member mounted on said plate portionhaving a part movable in a substantially up and down direction, saidpart having blocking means for cooperation with said blocking portion,said swingable member being movable to dispose said blocking means inposition to be engaged by said blocking portion and render said leverineffective to move said latch device into door unlatched position.

8. In a latch mechanism for a swinging door, a support having a plateportion adapted to be mounted on the free edge wall of the door, avertically slidable latch device mounted on said plate portion formovement between a door latched and a door unlatched position, actuatormeans comprising a substantially vertically extending lever pivotallymounted on said plate portion, a blocking portion on said lever, saidlever having a part thereon arranged beneath and in opposing relation toa part of said latch device, outer manually operable means engageablewith an arm of said lever to swing said arm in the direction of theinner edge of the plate portion to cause said parts to abut and move thelatch device upwardly into door unlatched position, a substantiallyhorizontally extending swingable member mounted on said plate portionhaving a part movable in a substantially up and down direction, saidpart having blocking means for cooperation with said blocking portion,said swingable member being movable to dispose said blocking means inposition to be engaged by said blocking portion and render said leverineffective to move said latch device into door unlatched position, andmeans on said latch device operative upon independent actuation of thelatch device for moving said swingable member out of blocking positionwith respect to said lever.

9. In a latch mechanism for a swinging door, a support having a mainplate portion and a secondary plate portion in spaced relationship toone face of said main plate portion, a vertically shiftable latch devicemounted between said plate portions for movement between a door latchedand a door unlatched position and having a keeper engaging portionprojecting below one edge of said secondary plate portion, actuatormeans mounted on said main plate portion and having a blocking portion,one of said means having a part thereon arranged in opposing relation toa part of the other means, outer manually operable means engageable withsaid actuator means to move the same in one direction to cause saidparts to abut and move the latch device means upwardly into doorunlatched position, and a member movably mounted on said support havingblocking means thereon, said member being movable to dispose saidblocking means in position to be engaged by said blocking portionthereby to block said actuator means and render the same ineffective tomove said latch device means to door unlatched position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,331,166 Ochsner Feb. 17, 1920 2,270,559 Rolph et al. Jan. 20, 19422,646,300 Roethel July 21, 1953

